Getty Images Luka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks’ superstar Luka Doncic’s rise to NBA Stardom was accelerated this season as it is barely the 20-year-old’s second year in the league and he is already among the top three favorites to win this season’s Most Valuable Player award. He is putting up incredible numbers averaging 30 points, 9.2 assists and 10 boards. His career averages are also impressive with 23.3 points, 6.7 assists and 8.3 rebounds a game. This season he is also shooting 48% from the field and 32.4% from the three.
Tonight the Mavericks had a tough loss against the Sacramento Kings, 110-106. Doncic racked up 27 points, eight assists and seven rebounds tallying 19-straight games, the longest streak of games in NBA history, with at least 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists. He has now surpassed NBA’s GOAT, Michael Jordan, whose longest streak was 18-games.
Luka Dončić has just passed Michael Jordan for most consecutive games with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists since the NBA/ABA Merger. This is Dončić’s 19th straight game with 20-5-5.
Dončić has 20 points, 7 boards and 8 assists entering the 3rd quarter.
Mavericks vs. Sacramento Kings
Getty ImagesLuka Doncic #77 of the Dallas Mavericks
The Mavericks had a tough schedule this past week as they played four games in six nights. Today, the team was riding a five-game win stretch before they played against the Sacramento Kings. The team struggled at the very beginning of the game as they were outscored by nine points in the first quarter and 11 in the second. They went to the locker room at halftime trailing the Kings by 20 points, 66-46. Tim Hardaway Jr was the player that kept the Mavs in the game during the first half as he tacked on 17-points and hit 5-of-7 threes early on.
The Mavs woke up during the second half and clawed themselves back from a 20 point deficit by outscoring the Kings by 16 points in the second half. With 13 seconds remaining in the game, Dallas only trailed the Kings by two points. Things got heated when Doncic didn’t receive a foul call on a shot he took with only 7.7 seconds remaining. Doncic felt like he was fouled on the elbow by Kings’ guard Cory Joseph. If this call was made, Luka would have received two free throws that could have potentially tied the game. The 20-year-old unleashed his temper towards the officials on the court after the final buzzer. In a post-game interview posted by Tim MacMahon of ESPN, Doncic acknowledged his need to tone his frustrations down.
“I know how to [approach officials], but like I say, I’m passionate. I know a lot of times I’m wrong. Persons are wrong sometimes, and I’ve just got to learn to calm myself down and go to the next play,” Doncic said.
Mavericks’ head coach Rick Carlisle came to the Mavericks’ superstar’s defense in an interview posted by ESPN.
“I don’t coach my team through the media. It’s just not the way I do things. Look, he’s a guy that gets hit a lot. People take a lot of liberties on him. I was here for 11 years with Dirk Nowitzki, who people constantly took shots at, were trying to get physical with, trying to distract him, everything else. Everybody in the league is trying to do it with Doncic, too. He’s tough. He can handle all of it, but when he comes over to the bench and he’s got scratches and blood marks on his arms and hands, I know there’s something there,” Carlisle said.
Luka Doncic acknowledges that he’s often too animated with officials. “Sometimes I’ve got to calm down and just go to the next play,” he said.
The Mavs ultimately lost the game and now post a 16-7 record and place third in the Western Conference. Hardaway Jr. led the Mavericks with 29 points, two assists and one rebound. Nemanja Bjelica led the Kings with 30 points, four assists and seven boards.
The Mavericks have a few days off now and play against the Detroit Pistons on Thursday at 6 p.m. PST.